A blimp depicting US President Donald Trump as an orange baby has taken off in London, kicking off a day of protests. Trump has outraged British politicians with his comments in a tabloid interview.
Opponents of US President Donald Trump inflated a 6-meter (20-foot) blimp depicting the US leader as an orange, diaper-wearing baby carrying a cellphone next to Parliament on Friday.
Hundreds of people showed up to watch the launch of the blimp, with organizers wearing red jumpsuits with the phrase "Trump babysitter" on their backs.
Stopping outside May's residence at 10 Downing Street, some protesters shouted: "Shame on you!"
Anti-Trump protests in London: DW's Barbara Wesel
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Daniel Jones, a charity communications officer who helped organize the blimp, said the stunt was supposed to make people smile while also underlining serious criticism of the US leader.
"It's also about giving a boost to those in America resisting his policies," he said.
"I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London," Trump told the newspaper.
"I used to love London as a city. I haven't been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?"
'Where are your manners?'
Some British politicians expressed outrage over Trump's interview, particularly his criticism of British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit negotiation strategy and his claim that she "didn't listen" to his advice on the issue.
"Where are your manners, Mr President?" tweeted Universities Minister Sam Gyimah.
Other politicians within May's Conservative party criticized Trump for insulting the prime minister as she hosted him for part of his four-day trip to Britain.
"If signing up to the Trump world view is the price of a deal, it's not worth paying," Sarah Wollaston, a Conservative MP, wrote on Twitter.
Emily Thornberry, shadow foreign minister for the opposition Labour Party, described Trump's comments as "extraordinarily rude."
"She is his host. What did his mother teach him? This is not the way you behave," Thornberry told broadcaster ITV.
rs/rc (AP, Reuters)
In Pictures: UK protests against President Donald Trump's visit
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire as the president attended a dinner with Prime Minister Theresa May. An even bigger rally is set to take place in London on Friday.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Dunham
The Trump angry baby balloon
A large balloon depicting the US president as a giant infant will be allowed to fly over London during the president's four-day visit to the UK after the capital's Mayor Sadiq Khan gave his permission. Scottish police, however, said that the balloon could not fly over the Turnberry golf club Trump owns on the west coast of the country.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Dunham
Angry Oxfordshire
Trump and his wife, Melania, met British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip for a formal dinner at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire on Thursday. Hundreds of protesters descended on the castle to voice their opposition to the president's visit.
Image: Getty Images/M. Cardy
Protest in the capital
Most of the protests against Trump have taken aim and his anti-immigrant rhetoric, as well as his administration's policy of separating undocumented parents and children who cross the US border. Although Trump has said this practice will be stopped, thousands of children remain separated from their parents and face great difficulty locating their relatives.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/R. Pinney
'I think they like me'
Despite the protests, Trump insisted ahead of his trip to the UK that he was well-liked in the country. "I think they like me in the UK. I think they agree with me on immigration," he told reporters in Brussels. He then reminded the press that his mother was from Scotland.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Akmen
Mass demonstration planned
As the Trumps dined with the Mays, protests in the British capital took place outside Winfield House, the residence of US Ambassador Woody Johnson. The Trumps will be staying with Johnson on Thursday night, one day before a mass demonstration against Trump's policies is set to take place in London.
Image: Getty Images/J. Taylor
Not the first time
Last year, activists began circulating a petition to block a state visit from Trump that eventually made its way to the floor of Parliament. In the end, the president canceled his visit before the UK government took any official steps.
